Maggie McKee

Email

maggieforquincy@gmail.com

Website and/or Social Media Links

maggieforquincy.com

https://www.facebook.com/maggieforquincy

https://www.instagram.com/maggieforquincy

https://www.tiktok.com/@maggieforquincy

Why do you believe you are the best candidate to represent Quincy residents at this time? 

I believe we need city councilors who will seek residents' input on local issues, learn how other communities have addressed those issues, and then advocate for solutions centered on what works for the most people – not just a few deep-pocketed developers.

My years of work as a journalist researching complex topics, asking tough questions, and communicating my findings to the public give me the skills needed to not only critically analyze issues that would come before the council but also keep residents informed about those issues at every step along the way.

And my years as a community organizer – helping to found Quincy Votes!, the Quincy Tree Alliance, and A Just Quincy – prove I am dedicated to advocating for my neighbors and speaking truth to power. With no ties to city employees or local businesses, I would also be an independent voice whose only allegiance is to the people of Quincy.

What three issues are you most concerned about, and if elected, how will you address them?

While there are many specific issues that I and other Ward 5 residents care about – from speeding cars to ballooning tax bills, I believe they can all be addressed by fixing fundamental problems with how our government works.

(1) Lack of communication and inclusion. As I door knock in the ward, many residents tell me that they’ve either never heard from their representatives or else that they’ve had to repeatedly call the city – over years – to get an issue addressed. We can do better. If elected, I will hold a community meeting at least once a year, with translators, in each of ward 5’s precincts. When all of us communicate and collaborate, we can learn about issues as they arise and come up with possible solutions – together.

(2) Lack of debate and independent votes. While the first step to representing residents’ interests is knowing what those interests are (see #1), the second step is being willing to represent them, even if they diverge from those of developers or the administration.

The current city council rarely discusses issues before them, and that is borne out in the votes they take. In 2024, council incumbents voted unanimously 99.4% of the time – even on issues that were deeply unpopular with residents, such as the 79% and 50% pay raises for the mayor and council.

That’s bad for all of us. When the council fails to push back on city spending, our taxes go up, and more of our hard-earned money has to go to paying down debt instead of increasing city services.

(3) Conflicts of interest. My research suggests that campaign contributions from developers may explain some otherwise perplexing (unanimous) council votes. To bring these relationships out into the open, I would push for councilors to declare any potential conflicts of interest before every vote they take and for rules to be developed on when councilors must recuse themselves from votes. There should be no question about who councilors are working for.

If elected, what steps will you take to ensure responsiveness and clear communication between you and the Quincy community?

--I would hold annual meetings for each precinct, as well as regular office hours.

--I would push for the council to follow its own rules and hold a public hearing once a month, with the goal of having one before every single council meeting.

--I would create an online newsletter and send out postcard reminders about important events and meetings in residents’ neighborhoods.

--I would work to provide translations in whatever languages were needed for meetings and written communications.

What do you plan to do about Quincy’s $1.6 billion debt? 

The council’s most powerful tool is financial oversight. It holds the purse strings for the annual budget, property purchases, and borrowing, and it also sets the tax rate.

To begin to deal with our enormous debt, councilors must raise questions about every spending proposal and be willing to just say no to those that are unnecessary or ill-advised. That means no more rubber-stamping administration requests to buy properties “high” and sell them “low,” to give billionaire developers tax breaks, to lease city land without requiring audits or competitive bidding, to fund new positions thought up by the mayor with particular people in mind, etc.

No-questions-asked spending inhibits our ability to pay off the massive debt we already have, setting up what could become a self-reinforcing cycle. Already, our debt has caused the S&P to downgrade both the city’s long-term credit rating and its future outlook, which means it could cost the city more to borrow money in the future. To avoid further downgrades, the city will likely have to raise our taxes – meaning we will be paying more but not receiving more in services. Getting ourselves out of this hole will take time, but the first step is to stop digging.

What do you think is the most important role of being a City Councillor? 

I believe a councilor’s most important role is to represent their constituents. That means going out into the community to understand what issues are on people’s minds, listening when residents reach out, researching and collaborating on solutions to those issues, and advocating for those solutions at City Hall. Government of, by, and for the people.

What will you do to increase civic participation and voter turnout in Quincy? 

I love this question!

--In addition to community meetings and written communications, I would take advantage of Quincy Access TV to provide regular ward and city updates via on-demand video and podcasts.

--I would create “community councils” so that folks could help advise me on – and later hold me accountable for – my votes. These councils could be centered on specific issues, so that anyone in the city with expertise or interest in a topic could participate. They could also be geographically based, so that the ward would have a network of neighborhood representatives who could advocate for hyper-local issues. We should take more advantage of residents’ talents and passion!

--I would push for the city to put up more multilingual sandwich boards to advertise elections, particularly in neighborhoods with lower voter turnout (such as precincts 1 and 2 in ward 5). I would also love to see “VOTE” flags on lampposts around election time.

--I would work to ensure that as many city events as possible include voter registration and information stations. We can strengthen democracy while we’re celebrating it!

Will you advocate for the City Council to allow the opportunity for public comment at every City Council meeting?

Yes.